Multiple Service Operators (MSOs), e.g., cable companies, are working to transform their value proposition from one dominated by basic subscriptions and equipment leases to a customer service driven value model. One of the reasons for this is the recent ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that MSOs adopt the Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) and that Set-Top Boxes (STBs) be open to other uses. With larger pipes, more powerful STBs, and improved customer service applications residing in those STBs, the MSO can begin to dominate the other Local inter-Exchange Carriers (LECs). This enhanced customer service value equation is viewed to be one key to continued MSO growth, increased revenue and increased margins. OCAP is a new paradigm that will allow MSOs to create, or have made, and deploy, a whole suite of new interactive communications services that can drive new revenue streams with higher margins for the MSOs. The OCAP middleware, written in the Java® language, will facilitate “write once, use anywhere” application software to provide new features and services created by third party developers.
The OpenCable™ Platform specification can be found at http://www.opencable.com/ocap/, “OpenCable Application Platform Specification (OCAP) 1.1,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
OCAP is an operating system layer designed for consumer electronics, such as STBs, that connect to a cable television system. Generally, the cable company controls what OCAP programs can be run on the STB. OCAP programs can be used for interactive services such as eCommerce, online banking, program guides and digital video recording. Cable companies have required OCAP as part of the CableCard 2.0 specification, and they indicate that two way communications by third party devices on their networks will require them to support OCAP.
More specifically, OCAP is a Java® language-based software/middleware portion of the OpenCable initiative. OCAP is based on the Globally Executable Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) (GEM)-standard, as defined by CableLabs. Because OCAP is based on GEM, OCAP shares many similarities with the Multimedia Home Platform standard defined by the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB)-project. The MHP was developed by the DVB Project as the world's first open standard for interactive television. It is a Java® language-based environment which defines a generic interface between interactive digital applications and the terminals on which those applications execute. MHP was designed to run on DVB platforms but there was a demand to extend the interoperability it offers to other digital television platforms. This demand gave rise to GEM, or Globally Executable MHP, a framework which allows other organizations to define specifications based on MHP.
One such specification is OCAP which has been adopted by the US cable industry. In OCAP the various DVB technologies and specifications that are not used in the US cable environment are removed and replaced by their functional equivalents, as specified in GEM. On the terrestrial broadcast side, CableLabs and the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) have worked together to define a common GEM-based specification, Advanced Communications Application Platform (ACAP), which will ensure maximum compatibility between cable and over-the-air broadcast receivers.
Packet Cable 2.0 is a specification based on the wireless Third Generation Partnership Program (3GPP) Internet protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), which uses Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) for session control. By using SIP, MSOs can create the foundation of a service delivery platform on top of their existing DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) or cable modem service. Two of the SIP features that are particularly important to this invention are extensibility and interoperability. These SIP features are important because new messages and attributes can be easily defined and communications between previously incompatible endpoints are facilitated.
Another development that sets the stage for the disclosed inventions is the processing power, multimedia codecs and storage capabilities of the STBs. Many of the more advanced STBs have Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) based on hard disk drives or flash memory that provide many gigabytes of available storage. They also have advanced audio/video codecs designed to handle the requirements of High Definition Television (HDTV). Processors such as the Broadcom BCM7118 announced in January 2007, provide over 1000 Dhrystone mega-instructions per second (DMIPS) worth of processing power to support OCAP, new customer applications, and DOCSIS 2.0 and DSG advanced mode. The Broadcom chip, and other general purpose and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) processors used for STBs, provide powerful security capabilities such as the emerging Polycipher Downloadable Conditional Access Security (DCAS) system. DCAS eliminates the need for a CableCard and supports multiple conditional access systems and retail products.